


You're Not Expendable

by hopedespite



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Chat Noir Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Lady Noir, Kwami Swap, Lady Noire - Freeform, Ladybug Adrien Agreste | Mister Bug, Mister Bug, like super duper temporary, major character death only not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27246457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopedespite/pseuds/hopedespite
Summary: Adrien knows his role as Chat Noir: Protect Ladybug, even if it might cost him his life. So when the heroes find their roles once again reversed in a kwami swap, how will he handle it when Ladybug returns the favor?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 23
Kudos: 201





	You're Not Expendable

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to sweaters-and-rainy-days on Tumblr for beta reading and providing kind, thoughtful feedback!

Adrien was in hell.

His heart lodged in his throat as his lady disintegrated before his eyes. The spotted suit he donned now felt suffocating, the red mask mocking his inability to do anything, absolutely _anything_ right.

The akuma before him had somehow gotten the upper hand in the last two minutes while he and Lady Noire attempted to parse out a strategy, their hidden position behind an empty bus made vulnerable when the villain shot it into oblivion.

But before they had the chance to recover, Lady Noire had played her role; she had protected her partner, just as Adrien had done for Ladybug countless times.

And now she was gone.

Was this what it felt like for her every time Chat Noir willingly threw himself into the midst of an oncoming attack? Was her chest instantly constricted, leaving her untethered, coming unbound, her ribs aching with a cry she couldn’t release because she had a job to do first?

If so, it was no wonder his lady had never failed to berate him every time he took the fall and returned.

And so Adrien — no, he had to think of himself as Mister Bug right now, lest he fall apart further — could just about _kill_ Lady Noire for pushing him to the side, leaping into the fray and taking a full blast to the chest without hesitation. She wasn’t supposed to do that. She wasn’t supposed to do it for _him_ , especially, regardless of which kwami the pair wielded.

He prayed his miraculous bugs would bring her back. But what if they didn’t? What if he truly, truly was not worthy to wield the miraculous of creation and failed at fixing the one thing in his life that mattered?

No, he couldn’t think about that now. Right now, he had a job to do: He had to make his lady proud. He had to live up to the example she set for him every day.

The only way out was through.  
___

Marinette had always wondered what it was like for the people her miraculous ladybugs brought back.

Perhaps they awoke with a start, a rattling breath, a sigh of relief so palpable they had to stop for a moment to take stock of the tangible world once more before them. Perhaps resurrection by way of the creation miraculous had an air of rebirth to the experience.

And perhaps not.

There was no Earth-shattering realization or shudder beneath her bones when Marinette miraculously returned to the streets of Paris, her Lady Noire suit still affixed in place as she was overtaken by a whirl of red, black, and blonde.

One moment she wasn’t.

The next she simply was.

“M’lady,” the blonde boy pressed into her shoulder, nose skimming her neck as though to reassure himself she was real. “Don’t you ever, _ever_ do that to me, ever again.”

He was crying.

Suddenly she understood Chat Noir’s confusion at Ladybug’s own repeated pomp and circumstance upon his return — after all, she was fine, wasn’t she? He had finished the mission and brought her back, just as she trusted he would.

So why did he seem so broken, if not a little surprised, by her return?

“Cha — I mean, Mister Bug,” she lightly wrapped her arms around his torso. “It’s okay, I’m here. You defeated the akuma, see? And the victim is already on his way home. Everything is alright.”

Mister Bug sniffled before pulling back reluctantly, looking lost.

“Why, M’lady? Why would you do that? We could have figured out the akuma together. You could have distracted him for me, been my support, my _partner_. So why would you do that? Why would you leave me?”

Lady Noire’s expression softened, one hand coming up to cradle his tear-laden cheek.

“Oh, Chaton. Because I needed to ensure you could finish the mission. I couldn’t let anything happen to you. I didn’t have time to think, I could only react and I —”

“But you aren’t expendable!” he declared, the unspoken “ _unlike me_ ” hanging in the air.

“You aren’t expendable M’lady. You might not be the one wielding the ladybug miraculous right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need you!”

Oh. Now, that was _not_ fair of him to say.

“Well, how do you think I feel every time you do the same for me?” Lady Noire rebutted, her lower lip wobbling. “You can’t stand here telling me how I should have played the tactical support partner when you’re the one who goes off on a self-sacrificial mission on a regular basis! You — you utter _hypocrite_!”

She shoved away from his chest, blinking through her rising tears and swallowing furiously to try to calm the sudden constriction of her throat.

Mister Bug just looked lost for words, stuck between a desire to comfort his lady and the urge to forego the argument altogether so they could switch their miraculouses back. He’d be damned if he ever let her go like that again, especially after the months he spent fighting Desperada. Taking the hit was his role, his prerogative, and he couldn’t bear to put her in that position again.

But before he could utter a word, Lady Noire continued.

“You’re the one who acts like they’re expendable, but you’re not! I don’t just care about Paris, I also care about you! I want you to _want_ to protect yourself. And for you to blindly throw yourself in front of me all of those times? And then to get mad at _me_ for doing the same? That’s not fair, Chaton. Do you really think you’re —”

Her ring started beeping in warning, and Lady Noire had to cut off a strangled cry of frustration.

“This — this isn’t over! We’re not done talking about this, I’m not through with you!”

She turned to vault over the nearest rooftop but, before she could extend her baton, her wrist was encircled by gentle fingers, prompting her to turn back around.

“I hope you’re never through with me,” Mister Bug said with a sad smile. “You’re right, we can talk about this later, but … M’lady … thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written fanfiction before, and this is my first time completing and posting a work! A week or so ago I read a discussion on Tumblr about what might happen in S4 if/when there's another kwami swap, and it inspired me to write this short bit.
> 
> Originally, I had also written a post-battle scene where Marinette is discussing the matter further with Tikki and realizing the frame of mind Chat must be in. I wasn't really sure how well it fit, initially, and when I got the same feedback I decided it might be better to omit it when posting. But let me know if you guys are curious for more — maybe I'll continue working on that scene and do more with this bit! In any case, thank you guys so much for reading, and you can also find me on [Tumblr](https://writtenbyrain.tumblr.com/)!


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